Vehicle bumpers incorporate flexible components and rigid components in their construction. The flexible components of a conventional bumper include, for example, the bumper fascia (or cover) and air dam. The fascia fits around the head lamps and may include the grille area up to the hood or trunk lid. The rigid components of a conventional bumper include, for example, the radiator opening reinforcement, fender attachment brackets, and head lamp brackets, which are made from stamped steel or compression molded glass fiber reinforced plastic. In addition, conventional bumpers incorporate an energy absorption structure, which is a relatively rigid structure that may be in the form of a steel bumper beam extending across the bumper for absorbing massive impact energy according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). In the prior art, the flexible bumper components are typically molded separately and then assembled manually or robotically to the rigid components with the expenditure of considerable effort and cost.
Thus, known bumpers and methods for manufacturing them are characterized by relatively high production costs because of the effort required to assemble the flexible and rigid components together. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide vehicle bumpers and methods for manufacturing them which address these problems.